


Young Love

by c0cunt



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, POV Connie Springer, POV First Person, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-16 10:43:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8099104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c0cunt/pseuds/c0cunt
Summary: Connie Springer was ready to attend his dream college; he didn't imagine that transferring into the spring semester would be exactly how it happened, but.  During the first week of classes, he meets a ragtag group of friends known not-so-fondly on campus as "the gay menace", and meets a boy with blue hair that makes his knees weak.Inspired by:  Young Love - Eli Lieb





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay!!! hey guys!!! I've had this idea brewing since, like...I want to say mid-April. I started writing a fully fledged fic for this song then, but after writing almost 10k words, and fleshing it out so much...I lost all desire to write it. But I still wanted to share this AU!   
> So I posted on Tumblr, and asked if everyone would want to read the birthdays that happened in Connie's first semester at Trost U. Everyone said yes, so! Here we are! This first chapter happens on the night that the crew is celebrating Krista's 20th birthday.
> 
> The first two chapters I have had written since May, and the following chapters are all more recent stuff.
> 
> Everyone in this fic is just reaching 20/21, and it takes place in the US - hence the underage drinking warning.

   The first full week of classes shot by faster than I had thought they would.  Of course, the first week is basically just a ‘relaxation’ period before shit gets real, but still.  Classrooms weren’t too packed, somewhere between 20 and 35 students at most in my five classes.  Two of them (statistics and history post-industrial revolution) were on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday before 2pm.  Two others (biology I and criminal law) were on Tuesdays and Thursdays, before noon.  My last class was my biology I lab, and it was only on Friday evenings at 6pm.  It was close to 9pm, as I was heading back to the dorm room, and maybe I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going with my headphones in and turned up loudly enough that I could only barely hear the sounds of people shouting.  Only when the song I was listening to ended very suddenly, did I hear a lot of screaming and running heading in what sounded like my direction, and I looked up from my feet to see what was going on.

   There was a half a second where I could see a large group of people running, before someone barreled straight into me, knocking both of us off of the sidewalk and onto the (blessedly soft) muddy grass I had been avoiding.  Completely winded, I stared up at the barely visible stars, smushed underneath a hard, lean body, and wondered what exactly I had done that day to warrant being smashed into.  I hadn’t even complained when a little blonde woman had accidentally whacked into me on her way out of lecture with a balloon splashed with “happy birthday” across it this morning!  The shouting was much louder now, and I could feel the ground nearby being stomped into as people ran past us.  The person on top of me scrambled to their feet, dragging me up as well by the wrist, and all I could do was attempt to stagger after them.

   “C’mon, hurry up!”  My assailant shouted at me over their shoulder.  The voice was definitely annoyed, a low grumble that reminded me of heat lightning, and the hand that was wrapped around my wrist was strong and calloused.  My feet moved a little faster when red and blue lights flashed bright enough to illuminate the area around us sporadically, revealing what could’ve been close to a dozen people running in front of us.  There was a lot of stumbling and shrieking from them, and I vaguely recognized one of the screaming voices as Eren’s.  I glanced over my shoulder as the space between us and the road grew, one of the campus security cars stopped just short of the sidewalk with the front door flung open.

   “Jean, you and Sasha head left at the next building, and we’ll meet up in Grandpa Dot’s parking lot,” A voice said nearby, and I whipped my head around just in time to see a small blond guy putting on more speed to catch up to the next closest cluster of running people.  There was more shrieking and laughter further up ahead, and someone dropped a bit closer to where we were lagging behind the group.  I could feel a stitch in my side forming, but if I slowed down and was caught by campus police, would they believe that I had just been a victim after running with these people?

   “Break!”  The voice that had delivered the instructions called over a high-pitched shriek what couldn’t have been more than a minute later.  The man, I assumed they were a man, still clutching my wrist made a sharp left, dragging me with him.  The person who had dropped closer to us just a bit earlier followed, staggering only slightly before speeding up.  The man holding my wrist stumbled suddenly, and turned his head to quickly look at me, almost surprised that I was still there, before focusing back on the running away thing.  

   “Mini said to Grandpa’s, right?”  The other person, Sasha I assumed, asked breathlessly, only sparing a half glance over their shoulder, ponytailed hair bouncing frantically with the speed we were still running at.  Hand-holding-mine grunted affirmatively, before snapping out “We need to go right up ahead,” and nodding at the space between two buildings, one of which I vaguely recognized as the science building that I had left not too long ago.  There wasn’t any other shrieking or running noises behind us to be heard, and I was a bit unnerved by just how silent things had gotten.

   “Why’re we running?”  I panted out as we made our right and ducked between the two buildings.  Sasha and the guy barely slowed down until we were just at the edge of the forest that bordered the campus, ducking among the trees and ignoring my goddamn question.  “Honestly, I don’t mind the running,” I started, dodging a very low hanging tree branch that hand-holding-mine had jumped over easily.  Almost made me wonder if he was on the track team.  “But I do like to have a reason why we’re running.  So. Why.  Are.  We.  Running?”  I snarled, tugging hand-holding-mine to a stop, making him yelp and nearly smack into another tree branch.  Sasha stopped as well, circling back to where I had stopped, and in the very dim light available I could just vaguely recognized her from move in day, one of Eren’s friends around the weird van.  The three of us stood in mostly silence, panting heavily, and I could smell the bitter scent of cheap beer coming off the two of them.  Sasha frowned at me slightly as she readjusted her ponytail, but it was hand-holding-mine who spoke first.

   “Well, obviously, campus police were on our asses, and we kinda don’t wanna get thrown in jail on Krista’s birthday.”  He said with a slight shrug.  I raised my eyebrows and wiggled my hand slightly, reminding him that he was still holding my hand, since he seemed to have forgotten.  He dropped my hand with a muttered “sorry”, and I almost wanted his hand back to keep mine warm, but Sasha apparently had something to add before my big mouth could get me into trouble.

   “Them campus assbutts’d call the real police on us in a minute after the shit we all pulled last semester.  But where the heck’d ya even come from?  You wasn’t with us earlier…Where’d Jean pick ya up?”  She asked slowly, taking great care to pronounce her words properly.  I wondered for a second about how much she had been drinking, that she was concerned about her words but was able to run no problem.  Jean cleared his throat loudly as he rubbed a hand against the back of his neck.

   “I, ah, kinda literally ran into ‘em.  Sorry about knocking you down…”  He grumbled his apology, before turning promptly and walking ahead.  “You’re welcome to come with us or go wherever you were headed.”  He said over his shoulder as Sasha scrambled to catch up with him.  I hesitated, my stomach growling loudly to remind me that all I’d wanted to do was go back to my room and eat, but I was also insanely curious about what these two and their friends were up to.  Before they got too far ahead though, I decided (with a mournful thought about the hot pockets I had gotten earlier and forgotten to label in our freezer) to follow them, easily catching up to their slow pace.

   “Think your buddies will mind me crashing the party?”  I asked with a slight laugh.  Sasha also laughed and tossed an arm over my shoulder, as Jean let out a small chuckle.

   “Nah, man, wouldn’t have invited you along if they would mind.  Krista would probably eat me alive for not asking you along after the way I knocked into you.”  Jean said with a slight huff that could’ve been a laugh.  It was too dark for me to be able to see his face (Sasha’s was also shrouded in shadow when she was standing straight, but when she leaned on my shoulder I could just barely see her face as my eyes adjusted to the darkness), but his tone sounded friendly enough, and I felt myself relax.

   “Then you’re gonna be stuck with me for a bit.  Lead the way, man,” I said with a laugh.  I could vaguely see the edges of Jean’s mouth tip up, before he hummed and pulled his phone out.  The blue glow of the screen illuminated his sharp features, and his mouth twitched into a frown as he tapped away on it quickly, his hair appearing to be almost feathery as it stuck up at odd angles, his hair appearing much bluer than it probably was.  His eyes darted around the screen, before he nodded once and shoved it back into his pocket.

   “Alright, let’s go then.  You got a name, shorty?”  Jean asked, quickly turning and leading the way ahead as I blinked rapidly in the sudden darkness.  I stumbled after him, my arms immediately shooting up to keep myself from running into a fucking tree or some shit.  Sasha apparently hadn’t been looking at the light from Jean’s phone, as she snatched up my left hand and tugged me along, and I couldn’t help a yelp and intense arm flailing with my free hand.  I really didn’t expect my right hand to smack into someone decidedly warm and solid and then be grabbed up, but that’s how I ended up once again with my hand(s) being held as the three of us stumbled through the dark.  

   “Oh, uh, Connie.  M’name’s Connie.”  I mumbled, realizing I hadn’t answered Jean’s question.  It was weird, walking with both hands held.  It kinda reminded me of when I was little, and my parents would hold both of my hands as we crossed the street, before I was old enough to be trusted to do so by myself.  Sasha nearly walked our arms into a tree when she tried to go around the far side of it, and only because I pulled her a bit that she decided to stick to the closer side.  “You’re Jean and Sasha, right?”  I asked hastily, getting an affirmative hum from Jean (as well as a squeeze of my hand).  He didn’t really seem to be that talkative a person, but Sasha apparently was.

   “Yu-wait...Connie, like, Eren’s roomie Connie?”  Sasha asked, her accent sounding a lot thicker now than it had when she had been carefully enunciating her words, and I felt her tugging on my arm slightly as she stumbled over a tree root or something.

   “Yuuuup,” I said, popping the ‘p’ and trying to focus as Jean started pulling me (and, by extension, Sasha, who whined and giggled as she stumbled along) into a zigzag pattern to avoid more roots.  Either Jean wasn’t as drunk as the intense smell of liquor coming off of him made it seem, or he was just really good at walking through dark woods while drunk.  I felt a little dizzy from that, combined with the smell of the drying mud on my back, it made me almost sick.  I had to find something to distract myself from it, and found myself focusing on just how pale Jean’s hand looked in mine, and the way his muscles flexed under his tight shirt as he swatted at dark branches that were in our way.  

   I tried to focus on the dark tips of his hands (he had to be wearing nail polish, but I wondered what color it was), and only ended up stumbling and nearly falling on, of course, a tree root that seemed to come out of nowhere.  Sasha cackled at me even though she was almost taken down, and Jean was also tugged nearly down by me, but he pulled us along with a grumbled “god damnit Sasha” that was barely audible.  I don’t think Sasha heard him, as she just continued to giggle and snort like she was having the time of her life.  Just as I was starting to wonder exactly how much further we’d have to go before rejoining the rest of their friends (and hopefully Eren, that would be at least one friendly face I’d recognize), the trees started to thin out around us, and the light from nearby streetlamps made everything that much easier to see.

   Sasha, upon realizing there were sidewalks and artificial light ahead of us, dropped my hand like a hot potato and charged forward.  She tilted her head back slightly, as if sniffing at the air, before she ran down a thin alley, between the row of squat buildings in front of us.  Jean squinted in the brighter light, and only dropped my hand when he looked down and could easily see his own feet.  I blinked up at him rapidly, eyes adjusting to the large amount of light that we were now in, and realized that his hair really was blue.  His bangs were a wispy pale blue, that got progressively darker until the hair on the back of his head was a dark navy, with a multitude of other blues in between.  It looked like it would’ve been complicated to dye, and I would’ve asked him how he did it if he didn’t turn to speak to me at that point.

   “So, Connie, have you gone to Dot’s Bar before?”  Jean asked, his amber eyes reflecting almost golden in the street lamp’s light.  His face was long and narrow, with sharp, harsh features that could’ve made him appear almost like he was ready for a fight.  If it wasn’t for his eyes, and the small smile tugging his mouth up at the edges, I wouldn’t have had a doubt that that’d be what this man had in mind.  His eyebrows pulled downward together, as well as the edges of his mouth (which looked soft and inviting, and I wondered for half a second if he was wearing lipgloss or something else equally appealing that I  _ really _ would’ve wanted to smear) fell, and it was only when he cleared his throat loudly that I remembered he asked me...Something about dots?

   “...Dippin’ Dots?”  I asked, completely baffled, the only thing with dots that was coming to mind in that moment.  The confused look on his face shifted quickly to amused, and Jean let out a barking laugh loud enough that it echoed in the mostly silent air around us.  He gestured for me to follow after him as he headed towards where Sasha had disappeared to, with me scrambling to catch up after him a few seconds later.  Jean’s sporadic chuckles and appraising glances in my direction were making me slightly nervous, but he didn’t seem too upset at how I had spaced out completely.

   “Nah man, not Dippin’ Dots.  I was wonderin’ if you’d been to Dot’s Bar before.”  Jean said once he was able to contain his laughter.  I felt dumber than a brick, not remembering that and somehow pulling Dippin’ Dots out of my ass.  Dumber than a brick and tongue tied, I decided, when I couldn’t actually  _ say _ that I hadn’t been there, instead just shaking my head no.  Jean apparently could tell what I meant by the horrified look on my face, as he smiled and patted my arm in a comforting way, nose wrinkling slightly as his hand came away from my shoulder slightly damp with drying mud.  I let out a little mortified noise, but Jean seemed to take it all in stride, wiping his hand on his dark jeans before motioning for me to keep following him.  I wondered just how much further we’d have to walk before we reached this bar that everyone was apparently meeting at, as my leg muscles were starting to cramp up.

   “Well, you’ll love it there,” Jean assured me, just as we both started hearing sounds indicative of a loud crowd nearby, “Everyone loves it there, and my buddies get half priced food when I’m with them, so we all win out.”  We passed the buildings on either side of us, and came face to face with a very large, very packed parking lot, with a low row of buildings stretching in either direction on the other side of the lot.  Streetlamps formed small pools of butter-yellow light in orderly patterns, and there was the noise of rowdy partiers near the back doors of several buildings.  I could pick out Eren’s distinctive voice shouting about waiting so long for ‘the horse’ to show up, and Jean rolled his eyes before making a beeline for where his voice had come from.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's half past midnight here, so it's officially wednesday!!! which means!!! here is a new chapter for y'all!  
> This is the second half of Krista's birthday - I hope y'all enjoy it!

   Jean led the way across the parking lot, only because he seemed absolutely fearless of getting hit by cars that were trying to leave or park.  Me, on the other hand, I’m at least halfway sane, and didn’t want to get hit by a car, so I ended up trailing behind as cars honked loudly at Jean, who just waved cheerfully at the car’s occupants.  It was horrifically stressful to just watch him weave his way through the parking lot.  Jean ended up stopping on a large concrete median that cars were parked up against on either side, eyes squinting as he looked around.  When he saw I hadn’t been either run over or left behind completely, he beamed at me, before jumping almost directly in front of a car that was reversing into the empty spot in front of him.  Thankfully the driver wasn’t as dumb as Jean, and hit the brakes before getting anywhere near him, and I was able to run over to him and drag him back onto the median with very little force.

   “Jesus Christ, watch where the fuck you’re going!”  I couldn’t help almost shouting as I dragged him a few cars away to attempt to cross.  It was a good thing I had a firm grip on his hoodie sleeve, as Jean seemed determined to continue attempting to cross without fucking _looking both ways like a reasonable person,_ whining about how dodging traffic was part of the fun.  I had a funny feeling in my chest that this guy would be the death of me, somehow, as I trotted after his dumb ass streaking between the aisles.  Every time he made it past a parked car, he would turn around and jog backwards while grinning at me, egging me on with hoots and catcalls.  I just rolled my eyes at him, and he blew raspberries, before turning around and walking properly, repeating it again once he hit the next line of parked cars.

   Jean stopped when he reached the sidewalk, instead pacing like an anxious cat as he waited for me to catch up.  We were at the back of a nondescript row of buildings, but Jean produced a key to the back door of one of them, and he winked at me as he unlocked it and held the door for me.  I nearly swallowed my tongue, almost wanting to believe that Jean had meant that wink flirtatiously, as I brushed past him into the back of what I assumed was Dot’s Bar  The room that Jean ushered me further into, so he could lock the door behind him, was thin and mostly empty, a few portable lockers lining the wall and a ratty old chair that looked about to fall apart was pushed up against the same wall.  The door at the other end of the room was slightly ajar, and Jean squished his way past me to reach one of the lockers.

   “You can take off that muddy shirt,”  Jean said casually as he pulled a black t-shirt from the locker, and tossed it toward me.  I caught it in one hand, but let it drop to the ground as I wiggled out of my own shirt.  I wasn’t sure what to do with my shirt, but Jean snatched it from my hands before I could worry about it, folding it up with the drying mud on the inside.  I had barely tugged the shirt over my head before Jean was heading through the far door, gesturing for me to hurry up.  I was walking to him before my arms were in their holes, and nearly tripped over the chair (which made Jean let out a tiny huff of a laugh,) as I got closer.  He stepped aside and waved for me to go first, holding the door like the gentleman he probably wasn’t, as I twisted the bottom of the shirt I was given and tied it just above my hip, so it wouldn’t get muddy.  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Jean had zeroed in onto the tiny bit of skin that just barely visible between where the shirt and my jeans didn’t meet.  I was tempted to test him, and ask “see something you like”, or something else equally stupid, but even though he was hot, I’d _just_ met him, and didn’t want him to feel awkward around me.  I pushed the idea to the back of my mind, as I scuttled down the thin hallway with Jean on my heels, following the sounds of laughter and chatter.

   The bar itself was dimly lit and smoky, with a lot of dark wood and soft looking chairs.  In one corner stood a pool table, that was surrounded by nine people of varying heights, and behind the bar stood a bald elderly man with a large moustache.  His golden eyes crinkled from a hidden smile as he watched the people around the pool table, leaning his elbows against the highly polished wood of the bar, carefully tucked away from the serving tray in front of him with thirteen filled shot glasses.  Jean made a beeline for the bar, and ducked behind it, and I trailed after him, anxious about joining his friends around the pool table.

   “Grandpa!” Jean sang as he got closer, and the elderly man’s smile became obvious as he turned to Jean and swallowed him into a bone-crushing hug.

   “My little Jeanbo!  I was wondering when you’d get here.  Got distracted chasing some tail, eh?”  His grandfather joked, ruffling Jean’s blue hair.  Then he caught sight of me, hovering a little bit away, obviously with a shirt that wasn’t my own and muddy jeans, and his moustache twitched in delight.  Jean remembered I was there, and he grinned as he wiggled out of the hug, before he hopped over the bar (in an obviously practiced motion) and draped an arm over my shoulders.

   “Gramps, this is Eren’s roommate, Connie.  Conman, this is my grandpa, Dot Pixis, owner of the bar.  He’s the absolute best,” Jean said proudly.  Grandpa Dot’s moustache stopped twitching as he took one of the shots from the serving tray, raised it in my direction, and tossed it down.  He winked at us, and gestured for Jean to take the tray.

   “Introductions are all fine and good, boy, but you go hang out with your friends.  Have fun, and remember, all the alcohol y’all drink will come out of your paycheck!”  Grandpa Dot chuckled, reaching over to ruffle Jean’s hair affectionately when he was close enough to do so.  Jean grinned, tapped his cheek against his grandfather’s, and easily hefted the tray in one hand, while gesturing for me to follow with his free hand.  

   When the others noticed Jean and I heading over to the table, they started hooting and hollering like we were the guest of honor.  Judging by the crown on one of the head of a blonde woman I recognized from earlier, who’d smacked me in the head with her balloons, _she_ was the birthday girl.  Jean confirmed that for me two seconds later as he placed the tray on the empty pool table, and everyone lunged for shots.

   “Two for the birthday girl!  Happy birthday Krista,” He hollered over his shoulder as he snatched up two shots as well.  The tall brunette girl, with an arm wrapped around Krista’s waist (who slammed back her two shots with barely a breath between them), narrowed her eyes at Jean.

   “Why’re you so special to get two then?  Ain’t another couple of months before your birthday, ponyboy.”  She sneered, catching everyone’s attention.  Jean ignored her and everyone else as he shoved the shot glass into my hand, and pulled me further into the group, pressed up between him and a tall brunet man, who was sweating up a storm as he clung to the broad blond man next to him.

   “Hey, I’m just making sure that Conman gets as he deserves, after how I knocked into him earlier,” Jean said with a wave of the hand that was draped around my shoulders.  I stood there, sort of helplessly and held the glass like it was dangerous.  Eren was draped over Marco (the only two I had really seen a lot of, from Eren’s friend group), so he didn’t greet me, but the blond boy who’d told us where to run grinned at me before downing his own shot with a grimace.  Everyone else let out a round of noises that were at least welcoming, and even in the dim light, it was hard to believe that all of them were old enough to drink.  I glanced over to where Jean’s grandfather was, still behind the bar and humming as he put clean glasses in their spots, and couldn’t help feeling guilty.

   “I, uh...I’m underage,” I confessed quietly to Jean, after I motioned him closer to tell him the truth.  The smile on his face grew into something dirty as he bent even closer to me.

   “I won’t tell if you won’t,”  He breathed into my ear, and I shivered.  He pulled away from me a tiny bit, and I felt my face heating up.  Jean’s face was _really_ nice, this close to mine, his lips parted invitingly.  There was a clatter of glass against plastic, and Jean turned away quickly to see that everyone had started shoving their empty shot glasses back onto the serving tray.  Sasha had apparently knocked one or two glasses over with her own, and she didn’t look contrite as she hung off of the stoic Asian woman next to her (I’m pretty sure her name was Mikasa?  Something like that?  I felt bad that I couldn’t remember her name), a sly grin on her face.

   “Y’all’re lookin’ mighty cozy there,” She snickered at me, leaning halfway across the table conspiratorially.  My face was burning, and just for the distraction of something to do, I threw back my shot as well; the alcohol burned on the way down, but Jean let out a little huff of air as he reached for the tray of empty glasses.  His nails were painted a dark blue, I realized, as the color appeared brighter underneath the focused light over the pool table.  Before retreating, he plucked the empty glass out of my hand, our fingers brushing, and grinned at me again.  I was tripping over my own tongue, and couldn’t answer Sasha even if I wanted to.  She looked highly amused, and the rest of the table was busy talking about whatever, so I focused on them instead.

   Words moved quickly with this group, as I found out.  Three or four different conversations were happening at once, yelled over each other for maximum communication, and I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.  Even with two younger siblings at home, I wasn’t used to just shouting my way into a conversation.  A bottle tapped my shoulder gently, and I jumped.  Jean was offering me a bottle of Bud Light, and a small smile.  He looked absolutely delighted when I took the bottle from him, and merely flipped Marco off when he howled about Jean being rude for not bringing everyone else something to drink.

   “These guys are assholes,” Jean said to me quietly, as he leaned against his elbows against the pool table.  “But they’re good assholes.”  He smiled gently as he slurped his own beer, only to be interrupted by Eren.

   “Telling my roommate about the time we fucked?”  Eren asked loudly.  Most of the people at the table groaned, as if they’d heard this story too many times, and Marco yelped “Don’t talk about fucking Eren, he’s mine to fuck!”  Jean looked like he was ready to smack his face into the table, but he breathed through his nose (I wondered how he was able to do that:  The smoke in here was making my own breathing short, but if it was owned by his grandfather, surely he had been here often enough for it to not affect him?) to calm down, before answering.

   “You know I don’t kiss and tell Jaeger, unlike _some_ people,” He said pointedly.  Eren blew a raspberry at him, and Marco went on whining and mumbling into Eren’s ear about...Something.  I wasn’t really sure what Marco was on about, and I wasn’t really sure I wanted to know at that point.  With nothing better to do, I took a sip of the beer I had been given.  It was terrible, and Jean laughed at my scrunched up face.

   “You don’t gotta drink that,” Jean said lowly, once I had unscrunched my face.  He tugged the bottle out of my hands after I gave no resistance in holding it, and leaned across the table to tap against Krista’s hand.  She took it like she had been expecting it, not even glancing away from the conversation she was having with the woman whose arm was around her waist.  Marco let out more whining noises about Jean not getting everyone something to drink, but Jean just stuck out his tongue at him.

   Time passed quickly, until eventually Grandpa Dot was waving us all out of his bar with a snapping dish towel.  Jean darted into the back to grab my shirt, as everyone was corralled outside.  I recognized the van that was parked in the space out front - light blue, with flowers painted all over, it was obviously Armin’s, who was herding his friends into it.  Nearly everyone fit inside, which made me think of a clown car, with only Jean, Eren, Marco and myself still needing to find a way back to campus.  Jean fished a set of keys out of his pocket, and beckoned for us to follow, leading the three of us to...A really old looking car, that had the same sort of color scheme as Armin’s van.  Jean grinned at me as Eren and Marco scrambled into the back seat.

   “Grandpa sold it to me when I got my license,” Jean said brightly as he patted the hood.  “This car’s been in the family forever.  Dad was so jealous when Grandpa decided I should get it.”  He grinned, like the cat that got the canary, before popping the trunk and pulling a towel out to put across the passenger seat.  I glanced back at Eren, who was wrapped up in Marco but still giving me a look that clearly said ‘get in or walk back to campus’.  Which, I guess, was my only other option, as Armin’s van started up and trundled down the empty street.  With a sigh, I scrambled around the front of the car, and carefully sat down on the towel.  Jean nodded with an almost smug smile, before he started the car and drove like a bat out of hell, back to campus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm terrible at describing cars (and everything else tbh), but I do have some references!
> 
>  
> 
> [Just imagine this with lots of random colored flowers painted on it for Armin's van](http://carinsuranceav.com/image.php?pic=/data_images/gallery/01/volkswagen-van/volkswagen-van-06.jpg)  
> [And I couldn't resist giving Jean a car from the 50's 'cause I'm aesthetics trash](http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/2730/1581/31823290001_large.jpg)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good morning!!! this chapter starts Mikasa's birthday ^-^

   There were many things that I had thought I would be doing with my weekend, but being woken up at an ungodly hour by Eren wasn't something that I had thought would be happening.  I knew that we had all planned to go to the aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores for Mikasa's birthday, and that the aquarium opened at 9am, so I figured that I would be able to have a nice lay-in.  But...Eren threw a pillow at my head to wake me up at a few minutes past 5am, and while I'm usually pretty decent about waking up...I was up late finishing an essay the night before, and I was almost ready to strangle him.  But Eren didn't seem concerned at all.

   "Connie, dude, bro, everyone else is up and ready, c'mon, hurry your ass up!"  Eren squawked at me, flipping the lights on and off rapidly like my mom would at home.  I groaned loudly, and just wanted to burrow back underneath my sheets and sleep, but alas...I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now.  Not with how loudly Eren was crashing around, obviously attempting to wake me up even more.  And there was Sam, banging on the wall dividing our rooms to try and get Eren to shut up.  Which means I had to get up now.  Goddamnit.  Unwillingly, I dragged myself out of bed, and glared at Eren's delighted face as he chattered on obliviously.  Well, he wasn't oblivious about how annoyed I was at being forced awake, but he wasn't going to be backing down.  I wasn't allowed to ruin Mikasa's birthday party.

   "...So, you're gonna be riding with Jeanbo, Bert, and Reiner, everyone else is gonna be in Mini's van..."  Eren continued blathering on as I struggled into a pair of jeans.  I couldn't help a small, private smile that I would be riding with Jean:  He'd been really starting to grow on me lately, and it would be nice to get to know him more.  Reiner and Bert are nice guys as well, and I highly doubt they'd be as chipper as Eren seemed to be so early.  I struggled to remember what I needed to bring with me:  Keys, wallet, phone, school ID (for a cheaper entry fee), and the little knitting kit with a pattern for a scarf with snowflakes on it that I thought Mikasa would like as a birthday present.  At least, Eren had nodded approvingly when I'd asked him if he thought it was a good gift, after learning that Mikasa would sometimes knit when she was anxious or bored.

   I followed Eren out of our room in a sleepy haze, at least pretty certain that I hadn't forgotten anything important.  Eren would've said something if I was walking outside in like, a stained shirt, right?  I trusted him to do that, at least.  Climbing down the stairs wasn't too terrible, and knowing there wasn't anyone around to run into made it that much faster, but it was terribly cold and foggy when we made it outside.  Eren let me huddle up underneath his jacket as we jogged across campus to meet with everyone, who were cluttered around Armin's van just like Eren had said they would be.  However, Jean was nowhere in sight, and Marco seemed to be getting agitated over that.

   "Where the fuck is Jean?  Did he forget his alarm again?"  Marco grumbled crankily as Eren wormed his way underneath his arm like a puppy begging for attention.  Marco smiled at Eren for a half a second before glaring at his phone in his hand.  Knowing Jean as I did, he probably had forgotten his alarm, or had rolled back over and fallen asleep once more.  Before anyone could start getting really upset (even though Krista politely asked Armin if he could turn the heat on in his van, and everyone started to pile in with her), Jean's car came roaring into sight, spinning fantastically to a stop not even two feet away from the curb.

   "Get in losers, we're going to the fuckin aquarium."  Jean yawned loudly as he rolled his window down.  Nearly everyone present groaned loudly (aside from Annie, who threw a bottle cap at Jean's head), and we all started to gather into the groups we had been told we'd be in by Eren, before Armin piped up.

   "Wouldn't it be a good idea to give Mikasa her gifts now, so that we don't forget about them later?  She can open them in the parking lot if we have to wait a bit,"  Armin said, and the logic was pretty sound.  We all dumped small boxes and envelopes onto Mikasa's lap, where she sat in the front seat, looking even more surprised as the seconds passed and Sasha seemed determined to make a literal mountain of gifts on her lap.  Jean had thrown his gift to Sasha instead of bothering to get out of the car, looking more than halfway asleep as he rested his head against the wheel.

   "Jean, do you want me to drive?"  Bertholdt offered.  He was honestly the most awake looking person out of all of us, including Eren (who looked annoyingly bright eyed and awake).  Judging from the cup of coffee he had clutched in his hand, he was probably a safe driving bet, and even Jean seemed to understand that as he unbuckled himself and wiggled over the center console into the back seat.

   "Reiner, you can have shotgun if you want.  Hope you don't mind me stretching out back here with ya, Conman,"  Jean yawned widely again, and ran a hand through his hair, which looked especially dark blue, even his bangs that were normally super light in color.  Had he seriously showered and not dried his hair?  The idiot was going to get sick that way.  But Reiner and I didn't have any complaints as far as seating went, and soon we were squished into his car, and on our way.

   Now, I'm not the best person to have on a long car ride.  I will literally fall asleep after twenty minutes, unless I'm the one driving.  And especially since Jean had gotten the heat fixed in his car, it made it all the more tempting to just take a goddamn nap within the first few minutes.  When Jean tugged a surprisingly soft blanket out from a little bin on the center of the floor, and draped it over me and himself, I was a goner.  Out like a goddamn light.

 

* * *

 

   "Hey, Conman, c'mon buddy,"  A voice whispered softly into my ear as my shoulder was shaken.  I let out an uncooperative grumble, and tried to burrow my way back down into the warmth that was radiating from the body I was...Laying on top of?  Oh shit.  I sat up abruptly, my eyes snapping open, and I stared down into Jean's tired, smiling face.  Shit.

   "Did I...Knock you over or something?"  I croaked out, very miffed that my throat was so goddamn dry.  Had I even gotten a drink before we'd left the campus lot?  I couldn't remember...Jean chuckled and shook his head, the smile on his face turning a lot softer than it had been before.

   "Nah, I was already sorta laying down, and you were grumbling in your sleep about wanting a pillow..."  Jean shrugged slightly, said shoulder jabbing me in the chin.  “Eh, my shoulder isn't exactly the best pillow, sorry there,”  He added apologetically as my teeth clacked together painfully.  Yeah, his shoulder definitely wasn’t pillow material.  I wiggled my way off of him, decidedly not looking at Jean, just as we were pulling into the parking lot for the Pine Knoll Shores aquarium, right behind Armin's van.  Reiner and Bertl weren't talking, Reiner's face basically plastered to his window, but they still held hands over the center console, which was kind of sweet.  Bertl found us a closer spot than Armin's van, and as soon as the car was in park, I was hopping out the door and stretching my cramped muscles.

   "Daaaamn, that was such a long ride!"  Sasha whined as she collapsed on her way out of Armin's van.  Mikasa smiled fondly at her, even as she whacked Eren and Marco on their shoulders, making them stop sucking on each other's mouths for half a minute.  Ymir and Krista hopped out of the van behind Sasha, followed by Annie (who looked very bored, as usual), and a very frazzled looking Armin, who had been driving apparently the entire time.  I felt bad for him, knowing just how much he  _ hated _ driving on streets that were more than two lanes, and there'd definitely been a lot of those on the drive down here.

   "Well, we made good time!"  Armin called weakly as he stretched as well.  I checked the time on my phone, and saw that it was just barely 9am with a slight snort. 

   "Yeah, great time..."  Jean grumbled as he stepped out of the back seat, looking a bit more annoyed than he had when we had been mildly snuggled up together.  I wondered for a second if it was because I had been practically using him as a body pillow, but didn't let myself think about that as Marco ushered everyone towards the entrance with a joyful call of "c'mon you guys, we're gonna go pet manta rays!"

   The entrance fee wasn't too bad:  I didn't know what to expect, since the last time I had been to an aquarium was before my little brother Martin was born.  $13 wasn't too bad, right?  Well, I didn't think so at least, even though I did feel a pang of anxiety about handing over the money for my ticket.  $13 is a lot of money when you’re broke.  Jean grumbled under his breath as he paid, looking a bit shiftily around, before shoving the extra ticket he’d purchased into Ymir's hand.  Ymir didn't seem to mind, taking it from him and paying for Krista's entry fee as well.

   I never really realized just how  _ large _ aquariums are.  The little map with the "you are here!" icon made it seem small, but the front room was cavernous, high ceilings and the sound of rushing water bouncing off the walls and making it sound even louder, especially combined with all the chatter from other early morning patrons.  It was a bit much after being outside in the mostly quiet, even though it's hard for my friends to be quiet at any given time when we're all together.  Their voices echoed as they spoke, Marco’s voice louder than anyone else’s as he demanded to go pet the manta rays  _ right this minute. _  I hovered over by the map, trying to figure out if it would be best to follow the aquarium's flow, or go around the different rooms to see only what we wanted to...The aquarium's flow definitely seemed decent, and I turned back to where everyone had been, only to see each that everyone had already started wandering off together, with their heads bowed slightly to talk quietly to each other, or holding hands as they exited the main room.  Only Jean remained, hands shoved into his back pocket as he shuffled his feet, looking like he was waiting for me with a slightly nervous smile on his face, which only made  _ me _ nervous.

   "Did...Everyone else know where they wanted to go?"  I asked dimly.  I tried not to feel a bit hurt that they hadn't stuck around to talk, but like...Damn, it did hurt a little bit.  Jean nodded slightly with a shrug.

   "Yeah, they were all discussin' it on the ride over, probably.  I know that Marco spent like half an hour howling about wanting to pet a ray, so that's probably where he and Eren are gonna be the entire time...Wanna just wander around?  Like, with me?"  Jean's voice squeaked slightly on his question, and even though he cringed, he didn't retract his offer.  Immediately, my mind whispered 'just as friends', and that made me want to cringe and say no like an asshole.  I mean, Jean  _ is _ my friend, practically my best friend (which is weird to say, after ages without anyone really close enough that I would consider calling a best friend ever before), and I couldn't let my stupid crush get the better of me.

   "Sure!"  I said, forcing as natural a smile as possible onto my face, and letting Jean lead the way into the next room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like...I ended up picking a specific aquarium that they went to (Pine Knoll Shores). And I've never been there. So I spent like three hours [looking at the map of it I found online](http://www.ncaquariums.com/assets/2240/ncapks_2016_turtle_map_final_page2.jpg) and trying to imagine what it was like inside. So, a lot of what I wrote is guesswork and based on what was written on the aquarium's website.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more aquarium stuff!!!  
> more jeanconnie!!!

   There was an artificial waterfall in the middle of the room, that took up everyone’s attention.  It was a huge octagon, and the beginning of the ‘mountain gallery’, as the map had labelled it as.  I honestly wasn’t too interested, and I felt kinda bad about it - as pretty as aquariums were, they just weren’t my thing.  At least, not the exhibits we were walking past at the beginning, with minnows and trout.  Jean didn’t pause long beside any of the tanks, as we slowly made our way forward, until we reached the river otters at the end of the piedmont gallery.  He snickered as they swam around, rolling and splashing, and I eventually drifted over to the tank with poison dart frogs.  

   To me, it seemed like the aquarium had a strange setup - amphibians and fish tanks in close quarters, with water mammals at the end of the hall.  On the wall next to the river otters was a map, which showed a hallway to go outside to their snake exhibit or continue to the coastal plains gallery.  

   “Do you wanna see snakes or stay inside?”  Jean asked, eyes flicking back to where the river otters were still playing.  Honestly, I didn’t think I would be having much fun either way, but indoors was probably a lot better than being outside.

   “I can see snakes at any zoo, let’s go see the gators,” I shrugged, and I had to stop myself from reaching for Jean’s hand to lead him.  Jean didn’t seem to notice, but he let out a small laugh as he followed me anyways.

   “Nerd, you can see gators at the zoo too,” He teased, bumping his hip into mine when he caught up with me.  I stuck my tongue out at him, and nearly crashed into the giant tank in the middle of the room, filled with dirt.  I blinked and squinted up at the placard next to the tank.

   “Why the fuck are there ants at the aquarium?”  I asked, eyeing the tank suspiciously as I walked around it.  Jean snorted as he led the way over to the gators, sliding up next to Ymir and Krista, who were arguing about if a gator or croc would win in a fight.

   “Who knows?  I’m pretty sure that we’re near the rays, though, so we might hear Marco before we see him and Eren,” Jean said with a shrug.  I ducked underneath the arm he was leaning against the wall, to get closer to the gators, and he laughed as I squished my way along the wall.  It wasn’t a good view of the exhibit, and I could barely see the gators where they were camouflaged in their tank.  I ended up walking away after a few more minutes of standing on my tiptoes and straining to see them, muttering that it wasn’t worth the effort.  Krista agreed with me, loudly interrupting the argument that she and Ymir were having, and was about to turn away from the enclosure, before Ymir lifted her up like a child.  Krista let out a shriek of indignation as Jean and I hurried away, not wanting to get in the middle of that argument, and we almost tripped straight into the doors to the tidal waters gallery.

   The sounds of rushing water was dampened in this area by the squeals of children...And Marco.  He and Annie were crowded around the ray touch pool, squealing when their fingers brushed the top of one of the slimy creatures swimming closer to the surface.  Eren and Armin were nowhere in sight, but I spotted Bertholdt and Reiner poking their fingers into the tidal touch pool, so I figured they wouldn’t be far.  Jean and I skirted around the touch pools, where children and their annoyed parents were gathered, to see the other tanks further in the gallery.  A plaque next to a large tank said that it was supposed to be a replica of a shipwreck from the 18th century, which was pretty impressive.  It probably would’ve been a lot more peaceful if not for the screaming of children (and Marco) who were excited to be petting rays and whatever else was in the tidal pool.  Eventually, Jean and I wandered over to Marco and Annie, who both had their entire arms sticking into the water, giggling like the children around them when a ray swam close enough to be stroked gently.

   “Hey, where’re your boyfriends?” Jean asked curiously, as I leaned over the edge to dip a hand into the touch pool too.  A few seconds passed as a ray swam close enough to be pet, and it seemed like Marco and Annie were too enraptured to answer Jean’s question, but Marco shook himself out of it once the ray had passed.

   “Uh, they went off together to check out the snakes, I think.”  Marco shrugged slightly, trying to dip his hands further into the water.  A ray passed close enough for my fingers to stroke along its...Fin?  Wing?  Whatever it’s called.  It felt slimy, and I immediately regretted it, and I didn’t even have a towel or something to wipe my arm off on.  Shouldn’t the aquarium provide something near the touch tanks to dry off with?  Or at least have a bathroom nearby to get a paper towel from?  Jean offered me the bottom of his shirt, when he saw me shaking my now-wet arm, and he grimaced when he felt the wet fabric slap back onto his skin.  It was kinda funny, and I couldn’t help snickering at him; he stuck his tongue out at me, and we kept laughing as we walked past the other touch pool and into the ocean gallery.

   The living shipwreck was cool, with all the different fish, sharks, and turtles swimming placidly around ruins.  We actually ran into Eren and Armin there, excitedly trying to name the different species of fish swimming around.  They were pressed up to the glass, making greasy smudges with their noses and cheeks as they tried to see every inch of the enclosure that they could.  As we watched, there was an announcement over the PA system that the Below the Surface divers would be jumping in soon.  Eren and Armin practically vibrated with excitement, and started calling everyone from our group (minus Mikasa and Sasha) to get to the living shipwreck exhibit.

   “Sasha got ‘Kasa wrangled into this,” Eren explained, pressing even further against the glass when Jean and I said hi, eyes shining in delight.

   “Why aren’t you two up there as well?”  Jean asked, leaning over me to look up into the exhibit.

   “Kasa’s the only one out of us to have a scuba license,” Armin said to the glass, eyes still scanning the fish towards the bottom of the tank.  Eventually, all of our friends had gathered around, and shoved Annie, Krista, Armin and myself towards the front so we could actually see, as the divers got ready to enter the tank.  As exciting as it would be to see Mikasa swimming among sharks, being pressed into the glass from all sides was freaking me out, and I carefully worked my way out of the group until I was standing near the octopus tank.  Jean spotted me from where he had been hanging back as well, joining me after mumbling something to Reiner.

   “It’s a bit crowded here, eh?”  Jean asked, wiping his hands on his pants.  I nodded slightly, and he hummed at me.  “Well, there’s another section on the other side to look, it’s not always as crowded as this side, wanna try that?”   He continued, jerking a thumb over his shoulder towards the bend in the hall.  I nodded and started in the direction he pointed in.

   Tucked in the corner, before we turned, were a few tanks that caught my eye, and I had to veer off course to get a closer look.  Jellyfish, my favorite animals.  I leaned up against the glass with a sigh, watching them float in the water without a care.  I vaguely heard Jean call for me, apparently realizing he’d lost me when he was halfway down the dimly lit hall.  I tore my eyes away from the tank as Jean walked over, gently lit by the pale blue light from the tanks that made his hair look even more blue than usual.  The soft look on his face curled slowly, pleasantly, and I would swear up and down for as long as I’d live, that the smile he shared with me would rival Marco’s, as he leaned against the wall closest to me.

   “Jellyfish?”  He asked, nodding at the tank.  I hummed as I turned my attention to them again, feeling completely content.  Jean’s body was close enough to me to radiate a sparse amount of warmth, and I had to stop myself from leaning back against him.  

   “It’s…” Jean started, but he didn’t seem to know where he was going.  He sighed, and shuffled up close behind me, and I held my breath as he leaned his sharp chin onto my shoulder.  “Peaceful,” He whispered into my ear.  I let out an affirming noise, and let myself lean back into him for a few seconds.  Or, well, it felt like a few seconds, warmth seeping into my back, before Jean’s phone screamed with Eren’s ringtone.

   We broke apart immediately, I nearly crashed straight into the damn fish tank, and Jean let out a string of curses as he fished the phone out.  I mouthed ‘sorry’ to parents who were glaring at us, and dragged Jean away from the quiet cove of jellyfish as he snapped at Eren, before hanging up with a large frown on his face.

   “Everyone’s been waiting at the snack bar for us,” He mumbled, ducking his face away so I wouldn’t see him blushing.  “C’mon Conman, last one there buys our snacks,” He said, and tore off down the hall, halfway tripping over tiny kids milling around.  I swore quietly, even though I knew I was faster, carefully threading my way through the crowd that Jean apparently hadn’t taken into account when he challenged me to a race.  

   He pouted something awful when he eventually made it to the snack bar, complaining that he would’ve won if he hadn’t stopped in the gift shop.  He wouldn’t let anyone look in the plastic gift bag he held, and nearly got into a fight with Eren when he suggested it was for someone he liked.  Marco had smirked knowingly when Armin and I pulled the two of them apart, but Jean was tight-lipped even as he paid for my hoard of food, deflecting any questions on what he’d gotten to anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think i might actually include stuff that would've been mentioned in the fic had i written it the way i initially intended to. so, first little tidbit: it took like a month for me to decide on everyone's living arrangements, but they are as follows  
> jean is living at home, paying like $50 a month to rent his bedroom  
> sasha and marco are living in coed dorms  
> reiner and bertholdt have a double dorm to themselves  
> ymir and krista have a dorm to themselves too  
> armin has the extremely coveted single dorm  
> mikasa and annie have a triple suite, that they're sharing with mina (who doesn't show up at all, honestly)  
> eren and connie are in a triple suite with samuel. i mentioned that vaguely in the last chapter (sam banging on the wall to get eren to shut up), so figured i'd clear that up.

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaaaa! so I hope you enjoyed that chapter! ^-^ Feedback of any sort is appreciated, and you can always send me questions on [Tumblr](http://c0cunt.tumblr.com/) if you want! Ask me questions about the Young Love AU!
> 
> [(Inspiration for Jean's hair can be found here)](http://41.media.tumblr.com/d74c6f9cc5f10a73c49f7a6689aee771/tumblr_nh9l2gC3cx1u687z5o1_500.jpg)


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